Southwest Riverside County Catholics: New pope should mirror John Paul II

Catholics in Southwest Riverside County say they want their new
pope to be just like their old one. As Catholics across Southwest
County on Saturday mourned the death of Pope John Paul II, they
said they hope their new leader has John Paul II's courage,
conviction and personality.

Above all, they said, they want someone who can connect with the
world as did John Paul II.

"It's a tough thing to follow this pope," said Bob Greger, a
parishioner at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Sun City.
"You've got people today mourning the man, who are not even
Catholic. I think that says a lot."

Greger said the pope's obvious humanity and his willingness to
reach out to people from all walks of life are qualities the new
leader of the Roman Catholic Church should have. He said the pope's
passing feels like losing a member of his family, which shows how
John Paul II was able to connect with Catholics worldwide.

"I never met the man, never talked to him," Gregor said. "But I
was deeply moved by him. He was just a great man."

Like Greger, Rudy Delgado, a member of St. Catherine of
Alexandria Catholic Church in Temecula, said he hopes the next pope
can "converse with people no matter who they are and be among
them."

Delgado said he is concerned about who the next pope will be and
plans to pray on the matter when the church's cardinals gather to
elect a new holy leader.

Similarly, Fred Von Voigt, a deacon at St. Martha Catholic
Church in Murrieta, said he will be in prayer when cardinals vote
for the new pope.

"We can only pray that the cardinals pick the one God wants,"
Von Voigt said. "I know that will happen."

Like other area Catholics, Von Voigt said he hopes the next
leader of the Catholic Church can connect with everyone.

"I'm looking for someone who is not ultra-liberal and not
ultra-conservative," he said. "One who knows the needs of the
people, because we live in a modern world."

Likewise, St. Martha's leader, the Very Rev. Jack Barker, said
the next pope should be someone who can reach out to the many
Catholics in the Third World countries and industrial nations,
noting that the position is one that requires "international
diplomacy."

Nevertheless, Barker said, it should not be a man who "gives
into fads and sentiments."

And conviction in the tenets of Catholicism is something John
Paul II will always be remembered for, said Bonnie Clough, a member
of St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Sun City. She said she
wants her new pope to have the same amount of strength and belief
in the Roman Catholic Church as John Paul II did.

"Someone who is going to keep the traditions of the church,"
Clough said. "Someone who is going to adhere to our faith. Someone
with the same convictions."